[welshcakes limoncello] open letter to my friend

Simi - the other half of the Sicily Scene blog

This is a post I promised Welshcakes Limoncello, at Sicily Scene. Most of you know her wonderful slices of life over that way and she's an original Blogpowerer.

So when she wrote this on my May 8th/9th post …

I have been concerned, lately, about some of the blogpowerers' comments and the language [I don't mean the f word!] … used in them re socialists. [I]am more socialist than anything, [b]ut I hope you all know me well enough now to realise that I have an open mind.

But lately I have to read that I am a piece of dirt or the equivalent - this from people that I would never have thought capable of saying it. [O]nce you assert that a group with one belief are "vermin" you are getting pretty Hitleresque, I should think … I am not screeching against free speech here but I am saying that I am concerned and feel uncomfortable.

… I obviously needed to reply in a spirit of conciliation and explanation, rather than defence and justification and I'll attempt to do that now.

There are many misunderstandings here and I can speak only for myself and not any others who have done similarly.

1] The "vermin" reference was not to the socialists but to the cabals and the logic was this: My father died of hepatitis and emphysema, both of which were sheeted home to WW2 and thus he had a disability pension and his life was greatly foreshortened.

Not only that but he couldn't give us the quality of life he'd have liked to either. [That part was neither here nor there to me.]

He went to war because his "country called", i.e. the government. They declared war because Hitler invaded Poland. The only reason Hitler invaded Poland was because he had the Bruderheist money to do it. The cabals were not only financing him but the other side as well, through war loans.

Therefore these cabals I call "vermin", without a shadow of an apology.

2] This has absolutely nothing to do with Welshcakes [it might just as well be Jeffrey Archer] except that the language was intemperate and unpleasant to have to read. My blog is not noted for this type of thing and thus it was unexpected.

For this I apologize but not to Merkel's warmongering overtures to the EU and they are warmongering - I only printed a portion of them. I do not wish for this woman to create a situation where more fathers have the life mine did.

Yes, I have strong feelings about these people.

3] Now to the socialists. There are those who are Brit-socialists - not really political but Labour inclined and liking programmes of social welfare and a "caring state". I imagine that this is where Welshcakes sits.

I can't speak about other bloggers but I'm referring to the socialist mindset and system in its extreme form.

There's no ad hominem here whatsoever. Look at my blogroll and see Mars Hill, for example or some of the new entries. I'm actively trying to attract left leaning people to balance the Blogpower blogroll.

I'm also looking for Americans, Scots, Australians and so on.

I think those who know me would be shocked to hear I'd been calling someone "dirt", for the simple reason I didn't.

But socialism itself - that's an entirely different matter and I'm scathing about it. In my eyes it's a false doctrine and we can argue about this till the cows come home.

4] Another reason many people are a bit hot under the collar just now is that it's the season for elections and war remembrances and that often brings out the passion. This time period will pass.

5] So, to Welshcakes, if you felt that that's what I was saying to you, I apologize unreservedly and am mortified that you thought this. Only the other day I wrote that you and Ellee were exactly the types of ladies I have my eye on.

Nothing has altered that opinion.